Using Songs in Teaching Oral Skills to Young Learners: Teachers’ Views and Attitudes

Abstract

The major aim of this descriptive research study was to explore the views and attitudes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Saudi Arabia about using songs when Teaching English to Young Learner (TEYL) oral skills (listening and speaking) specifically. The opinions of English language teachers in primary school in Jeddah (n=89) were collected through the use of one instrument which is questionnaire. The data were generated using the IBM SPSS Statistics 22® program. The results demonstrated that most of the teachers surveyed realize the pedagogical value of using songs when teaching English oral skills to Young Learner (YL), however, they do not use songs because of their religious and cultural beliefs. Therefore, it is suggested that teachers should be provided with chants that are free of musical instruments to avoid any controversies with cultural or religious beliefs. The development of a website that contains educational songs and is designed specifically to suit Saudi EFL teachers’ needs is strongly recommended.